Wii U also finally hit the 10-million-units sold mark, but sales declined year-over-year.

Wii U sales might be some way behind the competition, but that hasn't stopped Nintendo from turning in yet another surprising profit. For the three months starting April 1 through June 30, Nintendo racked up a net profit of ¥8.28 billion yen (£43 million, $67 million) off the back of over ¥90 billion (£466 million, $729 million) in sales. This follows Nintendo's overall profit of of ¥24.8 billion ($207 million, £136 million) for its fiscal year ending March 31.

Nintendo's profits were way above analyst estimates of a ¥6.3 billion (£32 million, $50 million) loss, and massively improved over the ¥9.5 billion loss ($76 million, £49 million) the company reported for the same period last year. Nintendo cites strong software sales and "favourable sales of amiibo" for its profits, with 4.5 million games shifted on Wii U and 7.9 million games shifted on 3DS.

Comic shooter Splatoon was a particularly strong performer, with 1.6 million units sold. It helped move some consoles too, with 470,000 Wii Us sold. The 3DS sold just over 1 million units during the same period. Unfortunately for Nintendo, Wii U sales continue to be down year over year, with the console managing to sell 510,000 units for the same period last year.

Much of that decline came from the US, where the Wii U sold just 190,000 units, a full 90,000 fewer than in the same period last year. Interestingly, though, sales were up in Nintendo's home country of Japan, climbing from 60,000 units to 150,000 units this year. Elsewhere (i.e. everywhere except Japan and the US), Wii U sales fell by 40,000 units to 130,000 sold.

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Still, that 470,000 in Wii U sales has finally pushed the console over the magical 10 million units sold mark, almost three full years after it first launched. By comparison, Sony's PlayStation 4 reached the 10-million-unit milestone less than a year after it launched. The Wii U's predecessor, the Wii, sold over 10 million units in less than a year, too.

The comparative failure of the Wii U might mean that Nintendo brings its next console, currently going by the codename NX, to market sooner than expected. Just yesterday, the rumoured hybrid home and portable console was being considered for the launch of Square Enix's upcoming Dragon Quest X and Dragon Quest XI.